Iowa 20 Week Abortion Ban Gets Even More Heated

An Iowa abortion ban aimed primarily at stopping Dr. Leroy Carhart from moving into Council Bluff to provide later term abortions has been stalled after passing through the House. House File 657, a bill that would outlaw abortions after 20 weeks except in the case of endangering the life of the mother, received House support but had yet to be put onto the floor for debate in the Senate.

Senate Majority leader Mike Gronstal, a Democrat from Council Bluffs, initially supported the bill on behalf of his constituency, whom he said did not want to see a clinic in their city that would provide later abortions (Council Bluffs is directly next to Nebraska, where the state’s own 20 week abortion ban prohibited Carhart from performing later abortions, primarily in the cases of fetal abnormalities or other health concerns).But his concern over the constitutionality of the bill, as well as the idea of legislators making medical decisions rather than doctors, has lead him to hesitate on bringing the bill to the floor for debate.